Local Green Spaces: new research proves their value to people and nature

Local Green Spaces: new research proves their value to people and nature

Posted on Feb 15, 2022 by jsw  | Tags: Landscape

New CPRE research has found that a total of 6,515 Local Green Spaces have been designated in the decade since their introduction. Combined, they total 30,000 acres of protected green space – an area greater than the city of Manchester.

The majority of these spaces are not open countryside, but the small, undeveloped patches that provide millions of appreciative people with a daily dose of nature. That’s why CPRE has conducted the first ever study of the impact of the Local Green Space designation, which allows local people to protect places of special value to the community.

Lawrence Weston Community Farm - Creative Commons Licence - https://www.flickr.com/photos/crabchick

We believe that landscape is more than just ‘the view’. It’s the ever-changing relationship between people, place and nature. Our Cambridgeshire and Peterborough landscape is special – it contains some of the best quality agricultural land in England. It’s a sensitive and fragile landscape of gently rolling clay or limestone hills in the west and south falling to flat open Fen in the north and east. Wide river valleys with extensive meadows meander across this gentle landscape. Reflecting this variety, our villages and market towns also have their own distinctive character. Our landscape has a vital role in tackling the climate emergency by capturing carbon, cleaning the air, helping to slow flood waters and providing habitats for wildlife. We want to see a thriving landscape that is – and we want as many people as possible to access these landscapes and enjoy their benefits to our wellbeing.

Read the article on the main CPRE website about Local Green Spaces here